


give me a whirl

by tongham



Category: Cravity (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, First Meetings, Hockey, M/M, Meet-Ugly, Mild Language, Rivalry, World Juniors | World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27569053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tongham/pseuds/tongham
Summary: halfway through the period, canada up one-to-nothing, seongmin sends minhee a glare after the elder rips into a point of the opponent’s strategy. “you know, if you wanna talk to your american friend, he’s right there.”“he’s not my – why?”“wouldn’t it be nice to talk to someone who actually understands what you’re saying? my english is fine but i don’t know shit about this sport.” when he puts it like that, seongmin’s proposal sounds pretty nice. however, minhee can tell that isn’t the end to his reasoning. “anyway, i know you’re just loudly insulting everything the americans do to get on his nerves.”minhee’s brow furrows, shaking his head slowly in denial. seongmin doesn’t buy it. “fine.” he gives in with a sigh, hands coming up to the counter to pivot himself. “enjoy your food, you little brat.”seongmin smiles innocently, biting into a french fry. “thank me later.”
Relationships: Ham Wonjin/Kang Minhee
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	give me a whirl

**Author's Note:**

> first of all,, this is THE most self-indulgent fic i have ever published. miniham. hockey. MINHEE CANADIAN. if you don't know what my main twt is,,, you know now lmao. partially inspired by minhee's melon interview where he said he'd be reborn in canada... i have not stopped thinking about it since. i start rambling when it comes to hockey especially with the specific hockey i wrote about in here, i just hope it's not a drag lol.
> 
> title from hey baby by dj ötzi... if you know, you know :-) #2018 #heybabyteam

_it’s canada and the united states, one game for gold, at the world junior hockey championship..._

the familiar sound of the tsn network, the signature and unchanging jingle that opens, closes, and fills the spaces in between the holiday hockey, the most exciting time of year, is music to minhee’s ears. the din in the pub quiets in the slightest of ways as the game sets to begin. even in the mundane setting, the anticipation gets minhee’s heart thrumming – the same way it did his first year in canada, staying up late on a school night to watch his new country reign victorious, and his senior year of high school, livestream of questionable origins projected onto the board by his history teacher.

hockey has always been what minhee had in common with the kids at his middle school, immigrating to the suburbs of ottawa aged thirteen with turbulent skills in the english language and even worse when it came to french. the kangs learned about hockey early on their path to citizenship, minhee’s younger self just laughed about the emphasis put on the sport. yeah, he and most other korean kids liked baseball, was hockey really that more omnipresent in canadian culture?

short answer – yes. when minhee began seventh grade, was launched into canadian society, he realized quick: the conversations in between classes on the game last night; the coffee mugs of his teachers and, in those most passionate, flags and banners behind their desks; the simple black jackets, etched with surnames and numbers and a specific number of _a_ s, sported by boys skilled enough to play. his brother experiencing similar scenes in high school, they partnered up to take over the television on saturday nights to take part in what they’ve learned to be a national tradition: hockey night in canada.

the entire family habitually gathered around in varying degrees of interest, minhee at the pinnacle of that ranking. competitive by nature, missing his fix of the kbo league with the timezone inconveniences, the youngest family member threw himself into learning everything he could about the sport. first welcomed as a necessity, a survival skill, it didn’t take long for his young self to get hooked on the rush, on the dizzying pace of the game. his siblings both adopted the local senators hockey team on default, minhee looked a bit further south to the toronto maple leafs, the most frequent stars of the broadcasted east coast games and, as far as minhee could judge, _very_ good. okay, they weren’t the _best,_ but they were at least better than ottawa. _(”not like it’s hard or anything,” minhee would regularly quip, knowing he’d have to physically restrain his brother.)_

now a second-year student at the university of toronto, ‘hockey fan’ is not a role that minhee plays, a title he tacks onto himself to fit in – it _is_ who he is, a strong part of his identity. why else would he be out on this night, seeking out an unbusy pub in mississauga – downtown joints get too crowded during gold medal games, minhee learned his lesson last year – to watch a bunch of teenagers he barely knows anything about?

gaze fixed on the array of televisions along the cupboards, all tuned into the same channel, minhee sees the light shift out of the corner of his eye. “you made it.”

“of course, you promised food.” seongmin rolls his eyes before looking down at the spare menu minhee saved for him. his junior at university, seongmin is one of minhee’s few friends in his new city – he was too occupied with exploring all toronto has to offer by his lonesome during freshman year. nevertheless, the gratitude is silently reciprocated by the international student.

“was just worried you wouldn’t be able to find it, this far out and everything.”

“and it’s still busy as shit here.”

“what can i say?” minhee shrugs smugly. “world juniors brings out the crowds.”

“yeah, i still don’t get it.” seongmin’s mouth draws into a thin line, still very new to canada. “you just learned about who’s on the team?”

minhee nods silently, cautious that a verbal response would be registered as a yell and get seongmin’s temper going.

“have you watched any of them play before this tournament?”

“nope,” minhee says at a normal volume, probably not even heard over the hum of the establishment. he ensures he shakes his head to communicate his response.

“then why?”

“because the winter olympics are only once every four years and the nhl doesn’t let the canadians go anyway. now,” minhee taps sharply on the laminated menu, “pick something before a waiter comes around.”

* * *

the first period passes in a blur and minhee thinks that seongmin is coming around to this whole hockey thing, eyes trained on the screen immediately in front of his body as he munches away on buffalo chicken tenders. minhee doesn’t disturb him, under the impression that he’s absorbing, listening and learning. not the best first impression, incredibly dull for a canada-usa matchup as the teams leave the ice with two zeroes hanging from overhead.

“sorry it’s kinda boring, that’s on the americans for playing a boring defensive game.” minhee pushes out a breath, standing up to go to the restroom and his elbow comes in contact with a stranger’s chest, beer spilling on the floor between them. “fuck, i’m so sorry!”

when minhee turns, he’s met with a shit-eating grin. flat-out ignoring his apology, the stranger goes on to say, “well, if canada is such a powerhouse, why don’t they just score?”

minhee simply rolls his eyes at the low-level chirp. “ _that’s_ what you’re focused on? can you at least acknowledge my apology?”

“apology accepted,” the stranger says, “but i’d appreciate a replacement.”

“it wasn’t even my fault!” minhee shouts, not loud enough to cause a scene when people are ordering food and shuffling to the washrooms during the stoppage in play. “and i’m not buying an _american_ a drink.”

“oh, c’mon! you said you were sorry. now prove it.”

sighing again – minhee _does_ feel a bit bad about the situation, even if the guy’s a prick – he slides a bill over to the bartender and nods his head in the direction of the stranger, prompting him to state his preference.

the american contented with his alcohol, seongmin taps his shoulder and minhee turns to the younger boy. “why did you do that?” he whispers loudly as if the stranger would be able to hear him when minhee has to strain to listen himself.

minhee peers over his shoulder at the other man, quickly turning back with a shrug of his shoulders. “scared of the alternative, i guess?”

“hey,” a voice calls out from behind him and minhee pivots once again. he’s getting a bit dizzy from this arrangement, the crowded and stuffy atmosphere alongside the language-switching doesn’t help his case either. “thanks for the drink. and sorry for being a bit of an ass. heat of the moment, y’know?”

“uh,” minhee says dumbly, stranger watching him struggle in amusement, “yeah. same. don’t worry about the beer.”

the american laughs and minhee can’t tell if he’s laughing at him or with him. “name’s wonjin,” the newly-named man says, extending a hand to shake. minhee stares at the formal gesture, furrowing his brow. he accepts anyway. “you from toronto?”

“minhee.” he addresses his questions in order this time. “and it’s ottawa. where are you from?”

wonjin nods. “if you mean my american connections, i go to school in boston.”

they strike up a bit more small talk, establishing that wonjin is one year his senior and launching into short storytelling stints on their history with the game – it’s commonplace, a natural reflex, to establish the age of initiation and childhood team in any hockey-related conversation. minhee has observed this.

they turn away from each other when the second period starts, minhee stealing some food from seongmin’s plate as he runs commentary on the match, seongmin an idle and uninterrupting listener.

halfway through the period, canada up one-to-nothing, seongmin sends minhee a glare after the elder rips into a point of the opponent’s strategy. “you know, if you wanna talk to your american friend, he’s right there.”

“he’s not my – why?”

“wouldn’t it be nice to talk to someone who actually understands what you’re saying? my english is fine but i don’t know shit about this sport.” when he puts it like that, seongmin’s proposal sounds pretty appealing. however, minhee can tell that isn’t the end to his reasoning. “anyway, i know you’re just loudly insulting everything the americans do to get on his nerves.”

minhee’s brow furrows, shaking his head slowly in denial. seongmin doesn’t buy it. “fine.” he gives in with a sigh, hands coming up to the counter to pivot himself. “enjoy your food, you little brat.”

seongmin smiles innocently, biting into a french fry. “thank me later.”

minhee is further puzzled but pushes it aside to commit to his intentions. “still a powerhouse?”

“look who’s back,” wonjin says idly, eyes drawing up from the straw between his fingers, leisurely stirring ice cubes around a glass of pepsi. “it was a nasty goal, i’ll admit. no way commesso was stopping that.”

even as the games increases in intensity, wonjin still manages to become more amicable as the time passes. he still bites back – that’s expected, they’re sports fans at the end of the day – but the tired and slightly-tipsy man keeps his tone light and airy, slowly entering minhee’s personal space until shoulders are touching by the commencement of the third and final period of play. minhee doesn’t move away.

* * *

as the superstition goes, minhee is physically tired and therefore the game must extend into extra time. he explains the situation to a clueless seongmin, reciting the new rules for gold-medal overtime and the lack of shootout.

when he turns back around, wonjin’s eyes are still trained on him. “seen this one before?” he asks with a small smirk and minhee groans internally.

“grade nine, how could i ever forget?” he does remember it very clearly, not for good reason – he remembers the extremely late night (hosted in canada that year), sat in front of the television for five hours, barely moving in suspense. “hate to break it to you but you can’t win in a skills competition anymore.”

“because god forbid canada ever loses.” wonjin rolls his eyes and minhee shoves him away lightly. it’s playful, it’s nice and minhee is amazed he can still joke around so lighthearted given the stressful situation on the screens above.

“hey?” minhee asks quietly, eyes darting up to check the time left before resumption of play.

wonjin’s eyes turn to him, eyebrows raised in question. he smiles smally when minhee averts his gaze, hands fumbling with his own glass of water. “what is it?”

minhee tilts his head back, telling himself it’s silly to be nervous. “can i have your number?”

wonjin drops his straw, eyes widening at the request. _so much for the nerves._ “hey, i’m supposed to be the drunk one here! unless that’s vodka or something,” wonjin follows up, pointing at minhee’s glass.

“it’s not vodka, what are you _on_ about? i just... i don’t want this to be a one-night thing.”

a sly grin splits onto wonjin’s face and minhee hopes his long bangs do their job in hiding his face as he looks down again. “what, you’re feeling something between us?”

minhee’s stifles a laugh at wonjin’s flirtatious tone. “more like seongmin here has zero interest in the beautiful game.” minhee takes a deep breath. “i don’t know, you’re just... you didn’t have to be nice to me after i split your beer.”

“and you didn’t have to be nice to me after i demanded you to buy me another.”

fingers pointed accusatoringly at each other, minhee fights a smile as he spots its shadow on wonjin’s face. “i can’t believe we’re doing this right now. just give me your phone and watch the damn game.”

* * *

in the end, canada loses on a whiffed shot but it’s alright. minhee’s alright with it even when wonjin whoops and hollers by his lonesome in a foreign pub because he drops the act quickly, he doesn’t overdo it. minhee shrugs off the arm that looped around him at some point in extra time – he’s unsure of when and how it got there, wonjin’s sneaky – but it isn’t active anger or annoyance, just passive contempt stemming from the sport and nothing else.

wonjin is good – he doesn’t bring up the loss when they part ways, briefly squeezing minhee’s hand in his before smiling and leaving quietly. within the span of hours, maybe even minutes, consider minhee mildly infatuated.

“are you and wonjin a thing now?” seongmin asks abruptly as the pair walk to the bus station after the game and minhee nearly tumbles off the sidewalk.

“how do you even know his name?” minhee asks in disbelief as he regains his balance.

“oh, you _know_ i was eavesdropping on you two. answer my question, please.” minhee doesn’t need to look over to know that seongmin is batting his eyelashes with the intent of leaching information. minhee will give it to him because he’s nice and seongmin gets dangerous when his imagination runs wild.

“we’re not. not yet.”

“ _yet?_ so there _is_ something between you two!” seongmin exclaims, hopping in front of minhee and halting him in his tracks.

minhee just rolls his eyes, ignoring his warm face. “yeah,” he replies simply and continues on his way.

the pair enveloped in silence, seongmin doesn’t speak up again until they’re on the bus. “can you treat me to another meal?”

“for?”

"subjecting me to all that tension."

**Author's Note:**

> thanks soooo much for reading!! comments + kudos will be ESPECIALLY appreciated today,, find me on twitter @deuichas or at curiouscat.me/tongham


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